CHANGE FEDERAL LAWS TO PROMOTE HEMP FARMS

Central Valley congressmen, including Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield,
need to come to a consensus about the regulation of industrial hemp --
a harmless, nondrug cousin of marijuana with many commercial uses in
clothing, food and bath products. Should federal laws be changed to
allow its cultivation?

We say yes, and so do many valley growers -- along with Gov. Jerry
Brown, who was nevertheless compelled to veto SB 676, which would have
allowed hemp cultivation in four California counties, including Kern,
as part of an eight-year pilot program. Brown's lone complaint: the
conflict with federal law.

Hemp products are legal for importation and use, but cultivation of
the plant itself is not. As a result, California agriculture is
missing out on a profitable cash crop.

Properly regulated and labeled, there would be no confusion with
marijuana, but then that's what the proposed pilot program would have
helped decide. Now it's off the table.